A group of Guatemalan migrant farm workers says they were duped and scammed out of thousands of dollars, as they face deportation for being in the country illegally.
15 of the Guatemalans were arrested in Victoriaville last month, but they say they were victimized by an unscrupulous placement agency, which essentially encouraged them to find other jobs after they began complaining they were being treated like "slaves" on the Victoriaville farm.
One of the workers, Juan Godoy Enriquez, arrived earlier this year and says he left behind a sick son to come to earn money in Canada for the boy's treatment.
He says he was paid as little as $300 for workweeks that lasted 80 hours or more.
He and the 14 others sought new jobs through a placement agency, called Les Progrès Inc. His lawyer, Susan Ramirez, says the agency pocketed $4,500 from each of them, but when it came to updating their permits, they sat on their hands.
"They received the money from them, but they didn't do any [paperwork]," Ramirez says.
Temporary worker permits are strict, and don't allow the workers to change employers, and when they did find other work, his former employer complained, and the 15 were arrested shortly after.
One of them has been deported. The rest are due at an immigration hearing next week.